The Long Road Home, Part 1

Posted on Sat Sep 19th, 2015 @ 11:46pm by Ensign Reva Madhava & Lieutenant Bryce Kendrick & Lieutenant Riley Sukotav & Desta
Edited on on Sat Sep 19th, 2015 @ 11:50pm

Mission: Further Challenges

Sipping at a lukewarm cup of liquid chocolate (dark, of course), Reva sat in the Takei’s crew lounge. She had replicated her usual off-duty outfit: jeans and a t-shirt and had added a thick, oversized and shapeless cardigan that, when she was standing, reached to her knees. Next to her, dressed very similarly since Reva had chosen her outfit, was Desta. On her, the cardigan managed to look shaped instead of shapeless.

Desta was eating a savory croissant, one wrapped around ham and swiss cheese that she was slathering with something Reva had told her about: a peach-habanero jam. It made her sweat, but was wonderful. “You’ve had this? It’s delicious! Do you want some?”

Barely moving, Reva shook her head; her frown stayed in place. She did answer Desta, though, “Yeah, Riley convinced me to try it back when we were first dating. I had heard habaneros were super hot peppers, but that jam is pretty mild.”

“I think it’s rather spicy. Good spicy, but yeah, hot.” Desta smiled at her before going back to watching the others in the room warily.

Reva was taking care to stay tuned into Desta; she wanted to be able to intervene if Desta got scared or stressed before they created a scene. They’d been on the Takei long enough to shower (again - Reva was sure she still had the smell of the Bajoran's blood on her), change clothes and scarf down plates of food - at least Reva had eaten an enormous amount of food. She’d started with a cheeseburger and fried mushrooms and a salad of Betazoid fruits and leafy pieces then moved onto a smoothie then downed a bowl of thick stew.

Desta was surprised Reva's stomach hadn’t split with all that food. Desta hadn’t eaten as much, but then Pash hadn't used starvation as a punishment in a long time. Reaching over, she took Reva’s hand then scooted close to her on the bench seat. "There's not many men on this ship." Her comment was a response to the population of the crew lounge: all female.

Leaning into Desta, Reva quietly said, "Commander Zeferino may have asked the men to avoid being where we are." She saw that there were mostly gold uniforms in the mix, as well as two marines. "And in this group, we're quite well-protected. Gold is usually security, ops or engineering. Right now, based on what the Takei was tasked to do, I think these Golds are Security. And those two in the different uniforms are Marines, another type of Security."

"What are the red uniforms?"

"Either Command or flight control."

"And teal?"

"Science or medical," Reva saw one teal officer and wondered where Riley was. Or Raj, for that matter. Riley had left them with Raj, but he had excused himself for a minute not long ago. Reva realized she wasn't sure how long they'd been sitting here, comfortably leaning against one another. Her eyes slid closed.

* Observation Lounge *

Riley had left Reva in the crew lounge with Desta (and Raj) to eat and now he was wandering, stretching his legs. It had been a whirlwind few days on top of the horror he’d experienced on 900. Now that they were on their way home, the adrenaline was gone and he had time to really think over all that had happened. He wound his way to the Observation Lounge and stepped in. It wasn’t until the doors closed behind him that he realized Bryce was there.

“Oh, hello Bryce.” He was at a loss as to what else to say. It was the first time they’d really spoken since the attack on Six.

Since there were so few people on the little ship, the observation lounge had been empty and Bryce had set the lights down to minimum brightness. Taking a chair in the corner of the room close to the windows, he sat with his feet up on another chair. He was barely visible when you first entered, but once your eyes adjusted, the light from the stars revealed that he was there.

“Riley,” Bryce replied, not looking at him. He sat with his arms folded across his chest.

That wasn’t the best start, Riley knew, and he debated what to do next. Stepping back into the corridor was the easiest thing, but it would only delay the inevitable. “Umm...can we talk for a few minutes?”

Bryce kicked the chair his feet had been on away from him. “Have a seat,” he said, still not looking at Riley.

Riley hesitated, then crossed to the offered seat. He studied Bryce for a few seconds before he spoke again. “So my first question is whether you intend to wring my neck or toss me out an airlock?” It was clear he wasn’t joking.

“Sit down, Riley.” Bryce finally moved, turning toward him. “And I won’t be doing either.”

Riley settled in the chair, his wary gaze still on Bryce. “I know this has been hard for you. I...I can’t imagine being in your shoes and seeing what you saw, trying to make any sense of it.”

“Look, Riley, let’s get this all settled,” Bryce said, leaning toward the increasingly uncomfortable Riley. “I’m aware of what happened to you. I know you wouldn’t have done it on purpose. I’m not going to kill you, glare at you on occasion, give you noogies or wedgies secretly wishing they were more lethal moves…” He sighed and sat back up. “It happened, it wasn’t your fault, Six is fine, so I’m fine.”

“You may be the only one,” Riley answered quietly. “Now that Reva’s safe and we’re going home….I have the entire station to face, along with helping Reva get past this. Helping her is the most important thing but I know that everywhere I go, people will be pointing and whispering. And there’s Suresh. What will he be pointing with?”

“No clue,” Bryce replied. “Unless it’s a weapon of some sort, it’s not my problem. You’re both grown ups and, eventually, you’ll have to discuss this like adults and come to a resolution.”

“Could you discuss such a thing civilly, if you were him?” Riley asked. “At least you understand how it was. You know better than anyone, except Reva, that I’d never hurt Six willingly.”

“Look, Riley, you’re Six’s friend. Go speak to her and find out what’s going on in her head and with Suresh.”

“You’re assuming two things - that she will agree to see me and that Suresh will allow it.” He frowned even as he said the words. “I can’t believe I said that in this day and age. Since when do men ‘allow’ their women to do things or not?”

“I’ve already spoken to her and she’s worried about you. And to be quite honest, Suresh didn’t seem like he was about to lose his cool either, so you may not have a difficult time with it.” Bryce leaned back and put his feet up on the edge of the window. “Just nut up and go talk to her.”

Riley nodded. “Do you think things will ever get back to normal?” Images of the four of them in Cravings flashed through his mind and he smiled for a moment. “After this? And now with Suresh in the picture?”

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Bryce put both hands through his hair and sat up straight. “This isn’t what you’re going to want to hear, okay? So brace yourself.” He didn’t even give Riley time before continuing on. “You’re Six’s friend, Riley. You and I? We’re acquaintances. I don’t know you like she knows you, or vice versa. I also don’t make friends easily, but I’m a bit more open to you because Six is your friend. So, instead of worrying so much about what might happen and coming to me, someone who barely knows you, take a big-boy breath, go see your friend, make peace, sing Kumbaya or whatever, and continue with your life. You can’t hide in fear of ‘what if’ forever.”

“You are the first step, Bryce, and you’re here. You were also the one that was at ground zero, so maybe that explains why I’m talking to you about this first.” Riley rose and stood by the chair. “For what it’s worth, I appreciate this.” And it was something of a relief. He smiled finally. “Can I buy you a beer?”

“Maybe back at the station, after you’ve spoken to Six.” Then he did something unexpected, even for him. He stuck his hand out. “I gotta’ say, man, it took balls to come see me. I think you’ll be okay.”

Riley took his hand, shaking it firmly. His smile returned. “I have to admit, I didn’t expect you to shoot me with a disruptor. Now once we’re home? That could be a possibility. We’ll see I suppose.” He let go of Bryce’s hand and stepped back. “I need to get back to Reva. She’ll be finishing up dinner about now.”

Bryce grunted and barely smiled as Riley walked out of the lounge. He pulled the chair close again and propped his feet back up. He still had 30 minutes before he had to get back to work and was going to enjoy the rest of his alone time. He looked back at the now closed door and smiled a bit broader. There was hope for that kid yet.

* * *

Riley was much relieved as he retraced his steps to the crew lounge. At least he had removed one target from his back, and it was an important one. While he and Bryce had never been that close in the past, Six had drawn them together, made Bryce part of the ‘gang’. His opinion mattered a lot.

The doors of the lounge slid open and Riley stepped in, taking a quick look around. A few of the female crew still lingered over meals, but most had returned to duty. At a table in the middle of the room was the one he sought - Reva. Seeing her brought a smile immediately to his face, especially since she had fallen asleep at the table, her head propped on her arms. Desta looked up and seeing him, raised her finger to her lips.

Riley stood watching her and once again, the relief that washed over him almost brought him to his knees. He should get her back to her room, let her get comfortable, he realized. Finally, he moved over to the table. He started to wrap an arm around her, then thought better of it, in case she woke up swinging.

“Reva?” he said gently. “Reva, wake up.”

She startled awake, sitting bolt upright, eyes wide, ready to claw at the closest thing. The closest thing, though, was Desta. Wide awake now, Reva saw Riley and smiled. "Riley. How long...? Where'd you go?"

“Not long,” he answered. “I went to see Bryce. I wanted to clear the air about what happened and it’s okay. He understands.” He reached for her hand and squeezed it. “One down.”

"Six will understand, too." She tried to recall whether she'd talked to Six. Yes, she had: in her room at Piper. Riley had still been in the Brig then and she'd been getting ready for a night out with Niro, working hard to ignore her broken heartedness. She shivered with disgust, not liking the memories associated with that night. "And we could just push Suresh out an airlock?" She liked that idea. Perhaps too much.

Desta looked from one to the other; she was sitting close enough to Reva that she could read some of the Orion's thoughts. They weren't pleasant. "Who is Six and what will she understand?"

"Six is a friend of ours,” Riley explained. “There were some problems right before Reva was taken away and she was in danger. It’s over now though.” He really didn’t want to get into all the details. It would take too long to tell. He shook his head in answer to Reva. “I don’t know what’s up there but right now, it doesn’t matter. We have more important things to deal with.” He smiled finally. “Like sleep in a bed instead of on the table.”

"Hmm... That sounds comfortable but it means moving," Reva lightly whined. "Desta, we can walk you back to your room. Unless you want to stay?"

“I --” she paused and sat up a little straighter as she heard the doors open. Behind them, Raj had entered the lounge and stopped to speak to one of the crew. “I’ll stay. Raj is back so I’ll be fine. Go. Sleep.”

"Okay," Reva used Riley's hand to help her stand. She was pleasantly full from her meals. Pulling the cardigan tighter around her, she shivered again, this time a reaction to sore muscles and the chill of the ship's air temperatures. "We'll catch up with you later, Desta," Reva said and smiled at Riley.

Riley nodded to Desta and led Reva from the lounge. Riley led the way along the corridor, silent until they were inside Reva’s room. Once the doors closed, he leaned in to kiss Reva’s forehead. “So, did you leave anything in the replicator for the rest of us?” he joked.

"Nope," she shook her head. "And I'm not hungry anymore. Look," she let the cardigan open and lifted her shirt: she'd unbuttoned her jeans because her belly was so large. She laughed and looked up at him.

He had to laugh as he reached out and poked her tummy gently. “Good thing Bryce always carries emergency rations.” He tugged her shirt back down and wrapped her in his arms. “I think everything will be okay,” he murmured. “For all of us.” He purposely closed off his fear of Suresh, focusing instead on his conversation with Bryce.

"It's good that you two talked. Remember when he set up lunch with us and then bailed, leaving us to make conversation?" Back then, Riley had had difficulty talking to her. That lunch had been their start.

Riley had to laugh at the memory. “I do. It’s amazing to look back at all that’s happened since then. A lot, that’s for sure, and we’re still here together. It was that day I knew I never wanted anyone else but you. I was blown away and still am.”

"Mmm.... I need to be lying down, Rye." She reluctantly withdrew from his arms and less reluctantly kicked her shoes off and stripped the jeans off. "Will you stay a little while? Hold me till I'm asleep?"

“I”ll stay as long as you want,” he answered. Once she was settled on the bunk, he stretched out beside her and once more wrapped her in his arms. “Now sleep. We have all the time you need.”

Falling asleep in his arms wasn't as easy as falling asleep in the lounge had been. So many things came to mind: Seyla telling her she was toxic for Riley; Darwin telling her that Orions don't love... the list went on. "I do love you, Rye," she said softly, her fingers curled in his shirt.

“I know,” he whispered. He could easily read the thoughts flitting through her mind and sighed aloud. “Just make sure you are making your decisions, Reva, not following the opinions of everyone else. They don’t know how things really are with us.”

"They forget, and I forgot, that I'm not Orion." She snuggled harder against him, as if wanting to be a part of him. She picked a memory, the one of their night at the lake with Six and Suresh and their night after the picnic at the lake, and dwelt on it, reliving the happiness of those moments. Within a few minutes, she was asleep.

**********

Ensign Reva Madhava
Desta
Lt. Bryce Kendrick
Lt. Riley Sukotav